After a quiet January transfer window, Gary Neville thinks Premier League clubs’ spending on transfers “will explode” into life again in the summer.
According to Birmingham Live, In January, Aston Villa signed Morgan Rogers for a potential fee of up to £15 million. They also finalized agreements to acquire Kosta Nedeljkovic, Joe Gauci, and Lino Sousa. However, teams like Chelsea didn’t spend as much money as they had in previous transfer windows, and teams like Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool didn’t sign any new players.
Neville stated on Friday, the day after the deadline, on Sky Sports News: “We received the window yesterday that the football community has always discussed. As we’ve always said, January is the hardest month to conduct business.
“Probably the odd thing is that last year when you were nearly spending £900m in January it goes against everything we say about the game because we talk about those difficulties and challenges.
“There’s no doubt that Covid is catching up with clubs. The threat of real punishment and the Premier League stamping down on the FFP element. There is a lot of caution.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Maybe it’s the start of something that means we’ll see a bit more sustainability and smartness in this window moving forward.”
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“I would expect the summer will explode again. The TV money is still the same as it was so the cash is still going into the clubs,” he added.
“I don’t think it’s a case of clubs not having the money. It’s maybe a case of Covid and the losses catching up with them. Maybe a slightly newer approach, thinking about things in a little bit more of a measured fashion
“The main thing might be that FFP seems to be hitting. Manchester United have spent hundreds of millions and they’re on the edge of FFP.
“It’s not just the likes of Everton and Forest who are near the bottom of the league and trying to catch up. It’s the clubs right at the very top who are having to move forward with more caution.”
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